“I see.” His voice was hostile. It made a knot form in my stomach, and at the same time, anger flooded my veins. He had no right to be angry, not with the crap he’d put us through. “So, what are you going to do with me, Ember?” he went on. “Kill me? Are you going to shoot your own brother, right here?”

“Maybe I will,” I shot back, and raised the pistol, making him tense. “You certainly had no qualms about giving the order to take me out.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Come on.” I sneered, angry that he would lie, that he would try to play it off. “Mist and Faith? The whole debacle in Vegas? That setup was all you, Dante—you told me that yourself. You admitted that you were the one to send them after me.”

“Yes, I did.” Dante’s eyes narrowed. “To bring you back to Talon. They never had orders to take you out. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

He’s lying. Faith told you she had orders to kill, and those orders came from Dante. But my resolve wavered. I didn’t want to believe my brother would actually try to kill me.

“Ember.” Abruptly, Dante closed his eyes, shaking his head. “This isn’t...how I wanted our reunion to go,” he almost-whispered. “I don’t want to fight you, sis. I never did.” Opening his eyes, he gave me a sad, almost pleading look. “I just want you to come home.”

“Talon isn’t my home,” I said softly. “Not anymore.”

The locks released, and the front passenger door clicked as someone opened it from the outside and slid into the seat. “The famous Dante Hill,” Riley stated, giving him a slightly dangerous smile as the door closed behind him. A pistol appeared in his other hand, casually resting against the seats as he draped an elbow over the chair backs. “You’ve caused me quite a bit of trouble these past few weeks.”

Dante stared at him, and for a moment, his eyes glittered with pure, unbridled loathing. A chill went through me, but then Dante smiled, and all emotions vanished behind a civil mask as he nodded at the other dragon.

“Not quite as famous as you, Mr. Cobalt,” Dante replied in a voice of chilly politeness. And suddenly, he wasn’t Dante anymore but a Chameleon, the kind Riley had warned me about. The sick feeling in my gut spread to my whole body as I realized I didn’t recognize him now. That brief glimpse of my brother, the twin who’d looked out for me my whole life, had vanished, leaving only the Chameleon behind. The thing Talon had turned him into. Settling comfortably against the cushions, as if this was a perfectly normal meeting, he crossed his legs and smiled. “Where are my guards and my driver, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Taking a nap.”